A Prayer
Trudging over, I could hear murmured voices as I approached, and once I got close enough, I could make out that it was Mai filling Midori in on what had taken place between us and Miyu and Alyssa. With a yawn, I slipped in beside the nearest column, pressing my weight against the cool white stone.
“Natsuki, I’m glad you’re here. I was afraid you wouldn’t come,” the redhead addressed me.
I sighed, “Why wouldn’t I? You did message me after all…What happened last night is important to me too.”
“So, how exactly did you get dragged into this, Kuga-san? Mai said you were the one who got captured…” Midori questioned.
My eye twitched involuntarily at the memory, “I had my suspicions of Father Greer being involved with this Searrs Foundation. When I went to investigate, something certainly was going on in the church basement, but before I could find out anything I blacked out. When I woke up, I was at that old factory. I assume Mai told you the rest.”
“Why didn’t you give me a call?” the teacher whined at the busty girl, sorry to have missed out on the action.
“Sure I did, many times,” Mai chastised, “I was counting on you, but you don’t pick up your cell phone at all. It was really tough, you know.”
“But, Miyu-san’s the enemy…” the older woman solemnly stated.
Mikoto nodded, “She’s strong. What is she?”
“Android, robot, cyborg…” I mumbled, “Whatever it may be, she’s no ordinary human.”
“Androroimo?”
“This sounds like a bad joke,” Mai said, her expression one of concern.
“A girl who manipulates the Orphans…An android…A dark group that’s after HiMEs…Mmh it’s getting exciting!” Midori suddenly exclaimed, “Feels like the big bosses are showing up, doesn’t it?!”
How old is she? Five?
Thankfully, for sanity’s sake, Mai was still on track, “But both Miyu-san and Alyssa-chan are gone now…”
“It seems the Searrs Foundation has been researching the power of HiMEs,” I informed the group before pushing off of my column, “I can’t think of them giving up so easily. I suggest you stay on your toes.”
No sooner had I finished my warning, my phone began to ring, and digging the device out of my jacket pocket, I checked the display to see that it was Yamada.
“Homeroom’s staring soon,” Midori called after me, “Don’t ditch classes at the start of a new semester.”
“You’re the last person I want to hear that from,” I thought myself as I silently walked off so I could call Yamada back, and once I had cleared the garden, taking refuge in the grassy center of the empty track field, I did just that. It didn’t take him long to pick up.
“It’s me.”
“Kuga. That was fast…Anyway, you know how you told me to keep looking into those two companies?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I still haven’t been able to find too much on that Searrs Foundation, but I did manage to hack into the records of the other.”
“Iwasaka Pharmaceutical?”
“Mmh. Seems they have a directory specifically for that Fuuka School of yours, and inside that directory was a file for a girl named Higurashi Akane.”
“What?!”
“I guess that name rings a bell, huh?“
“Were there any other names?”
“Not that I could tell.”
“I see…”
“Well, I can’t really talk now, but I thought you’d want to know.”
“Wait! I have more—“
“Save them for now, Kuga. We can talk more tonight, right now I have more work to do.”
“But—!“
“You’re not the only one I work for, you know.”
Before I could argue, the sound of dial tone buzzed in my ear, and pulling the phone away from my head, I growled at the device.
This is important, dammit! More important than whatever else it is you’re looking into! I thought the rumor was that Akane and that Kazuya guy ran off together, but now...
The sound of the morning bell radiated across the campus, and all I could do was bury my face in my free hand, messaging my temples with my thumb and middle finger. School was the last thing I want to think about right now with so many questions clogging my brain, but, as much as I hated to admit it, Midori did have a point about not missing the beginning of the semester. It wasn’t smart to get behind right from the start, so, reluctantly, I began the trek back towards the high school building.
I had just about made it back to the school when I heard a familiar voice call out from behind me, and instinctively I turned to the source.
“Natsuki’s running late…It seems that I’m going to have to issue her a detention.”
“Isn’t it a little hypocritical of the Kaichou to give out tardies when she’s running late herself?” I smartly countered.
“Ah, but I wasn’t running late.”
“Is that so? It certainly looks like she is.”
“Actually, I was just in a meeting with the Director, so I am excused,” Shizuru informed me, one of her delicate fingers flicking the end of my nose, “Too bad I can’t say the same for Natsuki.”
I quickly rubbed the spot of contact as my cheeks colored lightly, “Psh, whatever. But now you’re only making me more late than I already am.”
The older girl chuckled as we walked into the building, “Ara, I can tell your teacher that you were assisting me if you wish.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. It’s not like being late is anything new to me.”
“Natsuki needs to work on that,” Shizuru chided me to which I rolled my eyes.
“Anyway,” she continued, “how about we meet for lunch? I had some extras this morning and went ahead and packed them.”
“Huh? Oh, uh, sure. The usual place, I’m guessing?”
“Yep. I’ll see you then,” the girl replied with a wave as she walked off down the hallway as I continued up the stairwell to my floor.
“Huh?”
“The food…you’ve hardly touched it at all,” I remarked, setting my bento down in my lap to give my full attention to the raven-haired girl beside me.
“N-No, that’s not it at all,” Natsuki stuttered as she continued to poke at the contents in her box, “I guess I’m just—“
“Preoccupied?”
At the girl’s further distraught expression, which pained me to no end, I swiftly averted the topic with my quick thinking.
“Ara, I know there isn’t nearly as much mayo as Natsuki prefers, but the little packets from the cafeteria were the best I could manage on such short notice. They were already giving me strange enough looks as it was, I feared grabbing any more.”
That won me a smile, and I reveled in its simple beauty.
“Oh, shut up,” the mayo-addict playfully reprimanded me before shoving a piece of dried fish into her mouth, “Mgh, hwey—“
“Natsuki really shouldn’t speak with her mouth full,” I scolded before taking a delicate bite of my own fish.
Once Natsuki had hastily chewed and swallowed, she continued, “There’s another festival coming up, right?”
“The Tamayura Festival, yes, and ‘coming up’ meaning tomorrow.”
“That soon, huh?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I just heard some girl’s talking earlier is all. I guess that mean’s you’ve been pretty busy again?”
“Not as much as during the Anniversary Celebration. We get a lot of the same vendors to come to both, plus a lot of the planning was taken care of during the summer break.”
“Ah.”
“Does this mean that Natsuki is interested in coming? Maybe this time we’d actually be able to look around together.”
“It’s at night, isn’t it?” the girl questioned.
“Yes.”
Sighing, Natsuki scratched the back of her head, “Eh…Nights really aren’t good for me…Sorry.”
I was quick to mask my disappointment with an airy smile, “Don’t worry, I know that you’re busy with things, so don’t apologize for something you can’t control.”
As for what ‘things’ are…
“Hey, but, if nothing does come up, I’ll be sure to call you, alright?”
“Then I shall eagerly await Natsuki’s call,” I replied, allowing my smile to broaden though I knew in my heart that it would probably never come.
“You know, with the money I’m paying you, you should really consider getting a slicker set of wheels.”
“Hey, this van is the best way for me to cart around my equipment,” my informant protested from inside the vehicle, digging through a box of tools in the process.
“Yeah, but brown? You should at least get a better paint job…” I commented, picking at the pealing paint on the door with my fingernail.
“It’s less conspicuous this way. No one would bother an old dirt-colored thing like this.”
“You can say that again …”
“Look, are we here to check this place out, or not?” the man retorted, shoving a pair of high-tech binoculars at me.
I swiftly snatched the things, “Yeah, yeah.”
Walking away from the vehicles, I peered through the binoculars, their night vision capabilities deftly allowing me to scope the facility. There was one giant building accompanied by four others that were considerably smaller in size, all of which were on the same concrete structure built up higher than the main road, making me wonder if there could more basement levels below.
“So Higurashi is somewhere in there?” I asked.
“I can’t be certain, but that’s what I’m guessing.”
“You couldn’t peek inside the file?”
“All I was able to hack were the file directories…But, under the Fuka Gakuen directory, Higurashi Akane’s file did exist,” Yamada informed me.
“Why…her?”
“So? What’s the plan?”
Plan? I didn’t have a plan…All I knew was that I needed to get that girl out of there as fast as possible, not only for her sake, but also possibly for the sake of finding more answers.
“What else? We go in. Think you can find me a way inside?” I questioned, turning back to the man behind me.
Yamada just smirked, “Already covered. They have a shipment of narcotics being delivered by truck tomorrow evening, estimated time of arrival around eight.”
“Mmh. Right, then let’s meet back up tomorrow at six to go over the procedure. In the meantime, find out as much about that facility as you can. Floor plan, security, everything,” I ordered, handing the binoculars back over before heading towards my bike.
“Got it,” came Yamada’s simple reply, and not too long after, I was speeding back down the road towards home.
The Tamayura Festival is popular around the Fuuka Academy campus mainly because of the legend that surrounds the Crystal Arena. It is believed that if you tie a ribbon with the name of the person you love onto the center circular railing of the building that you and that person will be with each other forever, the ribbon acting like a tie that binds your two souls for eternity. Now, usually I am not one to believe in folklore such as this, but I am a bit of a “hopeless romantic”as Natsuki once put it, so of course I wasn’t about to pass up this open opportunity, even if it was just the symbolism of the action that mattered.
I honestly did want to be with Natsuki for eternity…to watch over and protect her…Simply to be with her…that would make me happier than anything else in this world, and so I pressed the tip of the black marker down on the ribbon, taking my time as I delicately spelled out her name, the syllables rolling off my tongue as I wrote.
“Na – tsu – ki.”
Once I had finished, I took a moment to allow my fingers to gingerly sweep across the ribbon before tucking it into my yukata, a gentle pink fabric with a hibiscus print, right next to my heart.
After gathering some personal belongings and tossing them into a small bag that nicely matched my violet obi, I exited my dorm and made my way down to the school.
By the time I arrived there was already a bustling crowd, and I couldn’t help but take some pride in the work I had done in helping organize the events that so many people seemed to be enjoying. Trying to keep a low profile, I quietly examined the various venders and booths set up, nothing particularly catching my eye.
Passing by the Crystal Arena, I lingered around until the place looked relatively crowded before slipping in, hoping that the masses would help hide my presence. To my luck, my little plan worked, and I managed to find a relatively clear spot almost directly across from where I had entered. As I walked around, I glanced at some of the ribbons already tied, taking note that my name was written on a few, but paying more attention to the ones that had Natsuki’s name on them and feeling a little twinge of resentment towards those unknown individuals who dared to write down her name so lightly.
Finally making it to the spot, I gracefully kneeled down, retrieving my ribbon and giving it a light kiss before proceeding to carefully tie the item onto the cool metal handrail. Straightening and taking a step back, I brought my hands together and closed my eyes.
Although I do not know to whom, I ask that you please guide Natsuki’s feet on the safest path when I cannot protect her…Always…always bring her back to me…Help me to open her heart and never leave her side so that we may be together for the rest of this life and for all of those that follow. This…is my prayer.
I heard Yamada’s voice, but I was far too preoccupied with the truck that was soon to pass under the bridge we were currently standing on to give him any verbal recognition that I had, only nodding my head as I kept my eyes fixed on the vehicle speeding towards us. We were relatively close to the spot we had driven to the previous night. Just about a mile down the road, there was an underpass where a section of the hillside had been blown out to make room for another road, and it was here that we laid in wait for the delivery truck that Yamada had learned of during his research.
I crouched down when I saw it rise over the last hill, and right before the trailer could enter the shelter of the stone structure, I jumped, the momentum of the truck immediately knocking me off my feet, leaving me to scramble to grip on to any part of the edge I could get my hands on. Once I had secured myself, it was just a matter of holding on until we stopped inside the facility…and, in the meantime, steering clear of any bugs that felt like flying into my face.
It didn’t take long for us to enter the Iwasaka Pharmaceutical premise, and once I saw that we were headed towards one of the smaller buildings, I immediately bailed from my spot atop the truck, rolling once I hit the ground to brace myself from the fall, and quickly slipping into the shadows to avoid any security guards or cameras that might be about.
Yamada said Akane was being held in the main building…
Although the building was right in front of me, I opted to go the long way around just to be careful, and after a few minutes of running, I had circled the entire area and made it to the back of the giant research facility. I located an emergency exit, which was locked of course, and immediately called forth my element, freezing the handle in a single shot and shattering it moments later.
To my luck, the door I had entered was connected to a stairwell, which made my decent to base level four that much easier. Once I had arrived on the correct floor, I grabbed the handle, but before pushing the door open, I shut out all of my other senses, focusing only on my hearing as I placed my ear against the slick metal surface.
Nothing…Seems like it’s clear for now…
Still keeping myself on high alert, I quietly entered the hallway.
Everything was strikingly white, and so bright that it nearly burned my eyes after being outside in the dark for so long. The smell reminded me of a hospital, sterile cleaning chemicals assaulting my nostrils, and I shivered at the sensation that brought back the horrible memories of my own extended stay in the hospital after the accident with my mother.
Pushing the thought aside, I began my trek through the endless wonderland of repeating hallways, not perfectly clear on where it was I was supposed to be heading, that is until I vaguely heard a voice echoing down the corridor, drawing my attention and leading me onward. As I got closer, the once mumbling started to become real words as I followed the eerie voice.
“Isn’t it nice? I dressed up for Kazu-kun.”
Akane? Is Kazuya with her? Which door is it…
“I really love Kazu-kun.”
That’s the one.
“Don’t be silent. Kazu-kun, answer me. I said answer me.”
Huh? What’s going on…?
“Won’t you, Kazu-kun? Kazu-kun? Kazu-kun!”
As soon as I peered through the small opening in the door, the girl inside released a horrific scream, and I very much wanted to do the same, not being prepared for what I was witnessing.
Higurashi Akane, the quiet, shy girl from my class, was strapped into a white chair much like one you’d sit in while at the dentist, her eyes wide as she writhed against the restraints that firmly held in her place, although she seemed to be in some kind of dream state. As hard as it was to watch, the worst part to see were all the wires and cables running from various equipment in the room to her body. Some were merely attached to her skin while others were clearly shoved under her flesh, reminding me far too much of my own terrible experience.
When I finally collected my wits, I quickly summoned my element once again and made quick work of the door. Once through, I ran to the girl’s side, trying to shake her into arousal to no avail as she continued her screaming that sent chills up and down my spine. Trying to block it out, I glanced around the room, my eyes lingering on one of the computer monitors. Going to the thing to get a closer look, the display revealed to me that it was on some sort of cycle, delivering meds to the girl every twenty minutes.
Is this what’s causing it?!
Without a second thought, I blasted the thing, and turning back to Akane, I began removing the wires from her body, which proved to be difficult as she continued to twist and turn in the chair. I had to clamp down on my lower lip to try to keep my emotions at bay, but after several minutes, she finally calmed down and seemed to drift off to sleep, much to my relief.
After I had completed my work and unbuckled all of the restraints, I positioned the unconscious girl so I could carry her piggyback out of the facility and headed back towards the stairwell.
Damn these bastards…What were they trying to get out of her? Did something happen to Kazuya? Did she see it happen? Akane…what…what happened to you…?
It took a little longer to make it out of the facility than it did to get in, but once I finally reached my entry point, I was thankful for the burst of fresh air that hit me in the face when I pushed through the door. Immediately, I called upon my child, and after delicately placing Akane on his back, I whipped out my cell.
“Yamada.”
“Kuga. How’d it go?”
“I got her, but we definitely need to get her to a doctor. Can that guy of yours take her? It might be long term…”
“Watanabe should be able to. I’ll call him up to make sure.”
“Thanks. I’m going to head in that direction, alright?”
“Okay. I’ll meet you there.”
Hanging up, I turned to my Child.
“Think you can carry us both?”
The silver wolf just emitted a low guttural noise and sent a mental wave of confirmation, and with that signal, I straddled his back, getting a secure hold on Akane before Duran switched over to flight mode and took off into the night.
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